


Did I Make Money, Was I Proud?

by MetalArmMagnets



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: 5 times Jack has Significant Things happen at pride, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Jack is insecure, Mild Angst, One time when he wasnt at pride, Pride, everything is ok in the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-24 01:56:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7488825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetalArmMagnets/pseuds/MetalArmMagnets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five significant moments Jack experiences at and around Pride and one time he experiences something significant somewhere else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Did I Make Money, Was I Proud?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [InsertUserNameHerePlease](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsertUserNameHerePlease/gifts).



> Title from the song Global Connections by Robert DeLong :)
> 
> (Basically I wrote this initially as a drabble after I went to my first pride but it turned into a bit of a monster)

I

He wove his way amongst the crowds, occasionally glancing back to see if he'd lost the guys pursuing him. He'd done another trick and pickpocket routine which led him to jump into the throng of brightly dressed people celebrating pride. He grinned and wove through the street, carried along by the vibrant crowd. Although he was tempted by some very visible wallets, Jack kept his hands to himself. He made a point to not pickpocket members of the parade due to the fact that it was one of the few crowds he felt fully welcomed and accepted. He'd never considered his sexuality in any great depth but to the people who marched that was no problem.

Looking back one more time for good measure, appeasing his nerves despite seeing the group of guys reentering the bar he's tricked them in, he slipped out of the throng and followed the march on the pavement. He listened to the conversations around him and found targets based on what he heard.

Anyone who said anything about the parade which was derogatory or homophobic soon became a victim of the young thief as he wove around bystanders and pedestrians alike. Soon he reentered the march as it began to slow to a stop, immersing himself in the thrumming heart of the crowds, talking to people and performing simple tricks for the hell of it. Soon he had a reasonable group around him as he elaborately shuffled decks and went through the tricks he usually reserved for cons. It was fun, he realised, performing without having to think about how to get the next guy's wallet out of his back pocket without getting slapped with a sexual harassment charge. Or getting arrested at all.

As he started to notice the crowds thinning he made his bows and said his farewells. Before he could disappear into the crowd once again, he found a ridiculous novelty rainbow hat being handed to him by a man with light, shaggy brown, a very attractive man with a half quirked smile dancing around his lips like the cards Jack had been twirling through his fingers minutes before.

“Since you didn't have one I felt it would be a shame to not collect some profit for your act.” Jack took the hat and looked inside to see a whole lot of loose change and quite a hefty amount of bills. Before he could say anything he felt a very soft pair of lips touch his cheek, turning his head he caught the whisper of a kiss as their breaths ghosted across the others face until the pulled apart and the other man disappeared like one of Jack's magic tricks.

Soon Jack realised he was standing in a daze looking at the place where the man had disappeared and shook himself off before pushing into the crowd once again, this time with a fuller pocket and a brighter grin.

II

Jack swerved onto the pavement once again and headed towards one of the brightly decorated bars that edged the street. 

Darting inside he joined the crowd of people milling around the bar, sitting heavily on a stool dragging his hand through his hair whilst throwing a smile at the rainbow clad bartender who winked back.

He glanced at the back wall of the bar and noticed a mirror positioned behind the lines of bottles. Reflected in its surface he saw two men staring straight at him from the other end of the room. The same two men who he'd been running from earlier that day. Two very drunk, very hefty men who had started to shoulder their way through the crowd towards him.

As he prepared to move the bartender placed a drink down in front of him and pointed to the back corner of the room, “Seems you've got an admirer cutie. He looks a bit old for you but then again,” the bartender grinned deviously, “who's going to turn down a free drink at pride?”

Jack forced a smile and decided that the strange man was more appealing than the approaching drunks. So he darted into the crowd as he wove and ducked to reach the slightly quieter booths at the back of the bar.

As he neared the back he noticed a small crowd gathered around some sort of performer. He seemed to be finishing a skit as the few audience members clapped and cheered before breaking and moving off back to their drinks. He caught the word ‘mentalist’ being flung around as well as ‘amazing’ from the people that passed him by.

“I happened to notice you seem to be in a bit of trouble?” The man sitting at the booth spoke to Jack, although he couldn't see his eyes for the trilby pulled low over the front of his face hid his features in shadow.

“Uh, yeah. Just a bit of a misunderstanding ya know?” Jack tried to keep his voice level but his hands kept twitching by his sides and his eyes scanned the crowd nervously.

“Hey kid, get behind me. I'll sort it out. You just stay there and let me deal with those tough guys,” Jack raised an eyebrow but did as he was told ducking to one side of the booth and turning up his collar to try and hide his face.

The next few minutes were a blur for Jack and he couldn't recall what had happened, only that the mysterious man in the hat did some sort of hypnosis and made the guys believe they were professional musicians preparing for a concert. He also vaguely remembered the man telling him that they wouldn't recognise him anymore.

Jack felt like he'd been hypnotised as well as he suddenly felt like cotton wool had been lifted from his brain.

“Hey, thanks man,” Jack grinned at his saviour, well he grinned at the part of his face that was visible from under his hat.

“No problem, just don’t make a habit of it,” a sly smile graced his features and Jack became enthralled by the devious softness of his features, “I won’t always be around to hide behind.”

“Don’t worry about me man, I think I’ll be just fine.” 

Glancing around quickly to make sure the guys were really gone, Jack pressed a chaste kiss to the other guy’s cheek before dashing to the back door, picking the lock and escaping into the night without a glance back to the mysterious mentalist he left behind.

 

III

Jack was drunk. He stumbled out of the third (or was it the sixth?) bar of the night and looked around. Resigning himself to wandering the dark until he found a corner to camp for the night, he tugged his leather jacket a bit tighter around himself and headed off to go on a loop of his usual spots.

Jack’s stomach growled angrily at him as he scuffed his feet along the pavement, hands tucked deep into his pockets. Somewhere through the fog clouding his mind he managed to form a coherent enough argument to himself that today he needed to get food before he tries to sleep. Steering his body along a side street, he headed towards a familiar all night diner where he knew he could grab something before continuing his search for a dry spot to sleep.

As he neared the neon lights of the diner Jack took a moment to scrape his hair back before pulling up the hood of the jumper he wore beneath his jacket, in a vain attempt to try and dissuade conversation and shadow his face from the phosphorescent glow of the overhead lights.

Screwing his eyes up in preparation for the change in light level, Jack pushed open the door and smiled warmly at the waitress. Only to find her not paying the slightest bit of attention to him. He followed the line of her gaze to one of the tables in the middle of the room. 

More specifically, the woman standing on top of one of the tables in the middle of the room. Even through his exhausted and clouded mind Jack could see she was beautiful and enthralling. She tossed her bright red hair over her shoulder as she performed tricks involving objects ranging from packs of cards to bouquets of flowers which seemed to appear and disappear at her beck and call.

Soon she took her bows and stepped down from the table, laughing and accepting the applause with more grace than Jack could ever hope to achieve. The server turned to look at him with a bright smile and he placed his order, still a bit dazed from the passion of the female performer.

Jack took a seat at the last remaining booth and closed his eyes, giving his body a respite from the world. As was his way, he slipped into a light doze. He very rarely fell into deep sleeps, he hadn't for a long time. It was true that he could sleep almost anywhere but he could also wake up in an instant if he felt anything was out of place.

He sensed someone approach and opened his eyes blearily.

“Your food sir,” the waitress placed the meal in front of him with another smile. It was a heaped portion of fries and two burgers. He knew he probably wouldn't eat for a while so he wanted to treat himself. He reasoned that it was pride, practically a national holiday, he deserved a treat. As if agreeing with his choice, the napkins were printed with rainbows and a smiley face had been drawn in black biro on the corner.

“That's an awful lot of food,” Jack didn't look up, he was used to being judged and he was not in the mood, “mind if I share?”

At this Jack glanced up, straight at the redhead performer from earlier. He smiled at her and nodded, pushing some of the food towards her. 

They ate in a companionable silence, the buzz of conversation filling the empty air as they sat, neither particularly paying attention to the others features. When they reached the end of their meal, Jack pulled out the cash required plus a hefty tip, before standing up to leave. The woman also stood, though not to argue over the payment as he first thought, but to whisper a quiet “thanks” and to press a very quick peck to his cheek before withdrawing.

That night Jack fell asleep with a smile on his face. He dreamt of soft lips, a rainbow hat, a sly grin and bright red hair.

The next morning Jack woke with a killer headache and a grumpy disposition. He stuck his hand into his jacket pocket to find a crumpled $10 note, a couple of painkillers, a crushed white rose and the black and white joker from an unfamiliar deck of cards.

He reflected on his dreams and smiled, wondering which gift belonged to each of the strangers.

IV

It had been three years since that day. In that time he'd not crossed paths with the strangers again, and yet he now knew that they were not ordinary people. Within a year J. Daniel Atlas and his beautiful assistant Henley Reeves had hit the big time. Jack went to every show he could, watching them interact and wishing he could speak to them again but knowing he never would. Finding the identity of Merritt McKinney was more of a lucky coincidence than anything else.

Jack had been sitting in the same diner where he’d shared a meal with Henley when an article on an abandoned newspaper caught his eye. It was an article about how a Mentalist and his brother made millions before the brother bankrupted the talent; apparently the brother had been arrested for numerous other crimes to do with money. What struck Jack was the picture of Merritt in the corner, he grinned at the long wavy hair and tried to picture it on the smartly dressed man he’d kissed on a whim one night a long time ago.

Over those three years he watched as Daniel and Henley had their momentous showbiz split, following them and watching their shows with the same wonderment as he had when they were together. He didn’t hear about Merritt again and assumed that he was laying it low, Jack couldn’t begrudge the man that.

Two and a bit years later and Jack had found a card in his pocket; it led him to a corridor outside an apartment. It led him to those three.

Three years later and it was pride again. Three years since he first met the people that he now shared his life with. Jack still couldn’t accept it. He was a street magician, a trickster, he didn’t understand why he was chosen to perform with someone like _J. Daniel Atlas._ It didn’t help that he was sure none of them remembered that one night three years ago, why would they? Jack was a nobody, a thief, a person who had never stood out from the crowd. It wasn’t their fault that that day was seemingly ingrained into his memory, playing on a loop whenever he felt out of control or skittish **.** (Living with three other people was one hell of an adjustment from being nomadic)

Now Jack headed towards the sounds of cheering and music, having slipped out the apartment on a whim. Soon he found the march and stood at the side laughing and waving at the brightly coloured people as they moved past. On impulse he hurdled the barrier and joined the march, immersing himself in the atmosphere.

At the end Jack debated with himself before setting himself up to perform like he hadn't done in three years. He lost himself to the cheering and the magic until he bowed at the end of a trick, making eye contact with a shaggy haired brunette man applauding in the crowd with a twitch of a smile dancing on his lips.

Smiling and thanking his audience one last time he moved over to Danny with a sense of trepidation.

“You know, for all the praise you give us, you're pretty good for a street magician.” Jack couldn't speak, he just stared at Danny in shock. ‘Pretty good’ was the highest praise they'd ever heard Danny give in regards to someone other than himself.

“Also,” Danny carried on speaking, leaning in so that his breath ghosted over Jack’s ear, making him shiver, “I believe we've been here before Mr. Wilder.” Jack's eyes fluttered closed as he tilted his head to capture Danny's lips in a chaste kiss which deepened as he twined his fingers into the longer locks of hair at the back of the other magicians head.

They pulled away from each other, foreheads still pressed together as their breaths mingled across the short distance.

Jack pulled back first, stepping away and looking into Danny's eyes with something approaching fear rolling around his gut.

“Jack,” the way Danny said his name made him pause. Watching the smile flit back across his face, softer this time as though he was trying to reassure Jack of something, “you know we've been waiting for you right?”

Jack looked into his eyes and saw no lie or joking reflected there. Taking a deep breath he grabbed Danny's hand and grinned, wide and mischievous.

“Then it's time to stop messing around,” Danny smiled as Jack tugged him along, heading towards one of the bars that lined the street.

You see Jack had noticed for a while now that casual moments between the four horsemen had a tendency to progress into more and more _almost_ and _maybe_ moments. He'd played around with the idea of a relationship and had decided that he couldn't decide. His feelings were for all of them and he was still firmly a believer that they saw him as a nobody. A street magician who was just the scapegoat, the sacrifice play. Now Danny had come along and messed up his little worldview, knocking down his precariously balanced perspective of their relationship with a single kiss. Jack grinned and held onto Danny's hand tighter as he spotted a familiar trilby at the back of the bar.

“So kid, finally decided to stop holding back?” Merritt’s smile deflected any kind of accusatory tone as he rose from his seat and winked at Jack, “Now quit stalling you two. Unless you want to tell Henley why we’ve started this party without giving her an invitation?”

And that was Merritt, sappy comments and reassurances weren't his style, it took time to learn how to read him, and Jack was quickly becoming an expert. He pulled Merritt down into a heated kiss before releasing him and gently tugging at his sleeve before turning to weave through the crowd once again.

As they stepped out onto the street they were met by a smirking Henley leaning against the wall by the door.

“Well finally,” Henley walked forwards and stopped in front of Jack, “so, you ready to put on a show Mr. Wilder?” She spoke his name like a challenge, curling the ‘r’ around her tongue as she looked straight into his eyes.

Jack pulled her into him, curving his body to match hers, allowing her to set the pace of the kiss as she took control. They pulled back and the other two moved closer, creating a bubble of space in which they could almost believe they were the only ones in the world.

The moment was broken as Merritt began to laugh, the others following until they were all wheezing and letting out giggles as they clutched at each other. It took a while before they sobered up enough to look at one another without breaking out into more laughter.

“You know,” it was Danny who broke the comfortable silence, “that might actually be an idea.”

The other horsemen looked at each other before staring questioningly at Danny, who carried on ignoring the looks directed his way.

“Put on a show,” he accentuated each word before looking around at them with a glint in his eye and a cat like grin on his face. 

“Mind letting us into that scheming head of yours Daniel?” Merritt smiled languidly, “or will I have to, well, use my own methods of entry?” He winked seductively, prompting Henley and Jack to hit him at the same time groaning at the terrible innuendo.

“What I mean to say,” Danny spoke as though he had not been interrupted, “is that Jack gathered a pretty good crowd for some basic street magic,” Jack shoved him in the shoulder but didn't stop smiling, ”Also we could do with some practice in performing together if we want to pull this whole thing off.”

“You know,” Henley spoke, looking thoughtfully at Danny, “that's not such a bad idea.”

“You think we're ready?” Jack was fiddling with a card he'd produced from some pocket or sleeve and was staring at them all nervously.

“Well there's only one way to be sure,” Merritt grinned and looked at each of them in turn, his gaze lingering on Henley, “are you ready to put on a show Miss Reeves?”

V

Jack was freaking out.

He could see crowds of people laughing and hurrying along the street outside. It had been a year. A year since the day Jack found out his crush wasn't as unrequited as he'd first thought. In that span of time, the four horseman had gained enough recognition in their small stage shows to attract the attention of Arthur Tressler. In a year they'd managed to achieve phase one of their instructions. All Jack could think was how mental the world must be for things to just fall into place like that.

Now Jack was hating whatever deity has cursed Tressler with the idea for the four horsemen to perform at Pride. Jack wondered if one of the other horsemen had something to do with it but overall he wondered whether he could skip a couple of instructions and head straight to faking his own death.

The problem was this; Jack was a street magician. He was a thieving trickster not an audience pleaser. His most impressive trick was never being caught by the cops. Although, he'd had more close shaves than he'd like to admit.

Anyway Jack hadn't slept well the night before. He'd stared at the ceiling for hours, trying to relax into the comfortable heat of the people surrounding him, but he just couldn't shut his brain off. At first light he was up and pacing around what they generously call the living room.

His mind was racing. He was supposed to go out and perform  _ on a float,  _ to  _ hundreds if not thousands _ of people, next to  _ J. Daniel Atlas. _

“You know,” Jack spun round to look at Henley, who was leaning on the doorframe with a decidedly tired smile on her face, “our floor’s worn pretty thin already. Don't you think you should cut it some slack?”

“Uh…” Jack’s sleep deprived brain couldn't think of any response and so he decided to just stare at Henley and hope she took out on him. A distant part of his mind told him that he hadn't had coffee yet and he really should close his mouth if he wanted pity.

“Come here,” Henley grinned and pulled Jack into her. He melted against her smaller frame and felt more relaxed than he had been for the last couple of days.

“You know, you're really not subtle when you're nervous,” Jack huffed out a laugh against Henley’s neck and gripped her a little tighter in response. “It's going to be fine, we’re the four horsemen, we are more than just performers Jack,” Henley pulled back and smiled up at him, her hand moving to cup his cheek, thumb moving soothingly over his cheekbone, “we've got that extra ingredient most people don't realise is missing.”

“Magic?”

“Each other.”

“Sap.”

He allowed a small smile to show on his face before he turned away. “Go get some more sleep. I just need to do a couple of things first.”

Henley pressed a kiss to his cheek before slipping back into their room and half closing the door.

Jack released a shaky breath. Although the talk was meant to reassure him, he couldn't seem to get past the irrational voice in his head that was almost constantly telling him about how they didn't need him. That on stage he wasn't the big name star, he was just the young attractive one, the magician's assistant with a couple of clever tricks up his sleeve. The problem was that on stage that was who he was supposed to be. It was part of this insane plan that they were following. He had to become big enough that his death would mean something but not enough that he was considered a threat. In public he was the eager kid, the one that idolises J. Daniel Atlas and is someone to be ignored and shunned.

Jack hated it. He hated that he had to wear a mask all the time. He hated that he was reminded at all stages that he was just an over promoted street magician. He hated that everyone believed it.

The worst part was that he'd begun to con himself. In public he couldn't show he was with the others as anything more than close friends. No matter how much he wanted to hold Danny's hand or press a kiss to Merritts lips when he was pouting over something, he couldn't. It wasn't part of the mask.

Jack was familiar with pretending to be someone he wasn't. On the streets he'd made a game of it, making up names and backstories for characters he'd play each time he'd perform a trick to a new audience. Now the character was himself. It had started to bleed into his private life like no other character had. He'd avoid romantic gestures and he stopped being the one to initiate anything that could be considered more than platonic.

He knew that the others noticed but they didn't get it. Danny had been performing for so long that he wouldn't understand that for Jack there wasn't an easy split between performance and private. At home he was Danny, perfectly round pancakes made whilst wearing crumpled t-shirts with cheesy slogans. On stage he was J. Daniel Atlas, enigmatic stage magician who seemed to have his own gravitational pull, bringing the audience in as he won them over with every successive trick.

No Jack didn't have that kind of separation. On stage he was charming and funny, providing the eye candy as he performed card tricks to make the audience fall just a little bit in love with Jack Wilder. Off stage he was the lovable, overeager child, best left to the patient and only humoured not taken seriously.

Jack walked quickly to his room in the apartment. He entered quickly and softly closed the door behind himself. Slumping back against its cool surface he stuffed his fist into his mouth and let out a silent scream.

Four hours later and the four horsemen were gathered next to a float bearing their symbol, preparing for the show ahead. Merritt was laughing about something with Henley and Daniel was nowhere in sight.

“So,” scratch that, Danny was standing to one side of the float, looking the picture of serenity, “pre-show anxiety?”

“What-” Jack scrunched up his face in confusion.

In reply Danny looked pointedly at the rather obvious bruises on Jack’s right hand, as well as the scrapes along his knuckles. (Jack looks at it like he'd had a fight with a brick wall and the wall won) “if you want something a little less damaging to your body is suggest ripping up something. Take a pack of your cards and just tear each one up.

Don't look at me like that, I know you have at least ten packs you don't care about.” He'd turned to face Jack completely now. Not quite meeting his eye.

It was then Jack realised how much this was costing Danny. The way Danny had offered the advice spoke of experience. Jack thought of Danny’s control issues, and how he obsessively checked every detail. It made sense that in terms of putting on a show, there were so many variables that were left to chance that it can't be easy for someone who deals in definites to go out and perform night after night.

Jack turned to Danny and gave him a wavering smile, which strengthened when he received a gentler smile in return. Moving forward, he grasped Danny into a hug that lasted slightly too long for a completely platonic interaction but Jack didn't care. In this second he was no longer Jack Wilder: Stage Magician, but Jack: boyfriend to three amazing people who he cared more about than the opinions of the public. Grinning wildly, he looked to the other two and nodded. They grouped together and took a moment to relax into each other, before they were climbing onto the float, masks firmly back in place, as the four horsemen began to perform to the crowds gathered for Pride.

After the show Jack was sitting on a counter in their tiny kitchen, socked feet swinging aimlessly as he stared at the opposite wall without really seeing it. The show had gone better than any of them could have hoped. The crowd loved them, their tricks went off without a hitch, and Arthur Tressler had clapped each of them on the back and told them he was looking forward to the return on his investment.

Jack's anxiety had been calmed during the performance and yet he still felt as though the mask hadn't quite lifted from his being. He had watched the others move around each other, laughing and joking, occasionally jumping in with a quip of his own and watching their faces crease with happiness. They'd climbed into bed together, but unusually Jack had requested to be on the outside of the group, mumbling some excuse about excess nerves maybe making him jumpy.

He wasn't lying, he was jumpy, which was why after lying awake for 45 restless minutes he'd gotten up and made his way to the kitchen to think. His zoned out state made him jump rather violently when he realised he was no longer the only person in the room.

“Ah fuck,” Jack rubbed the back of his head where he'd bashed it against the cabinet behind him.

“Good evening to you too,” Merritt replied dryly as he removed the milk from the fridge before getting down a couple of glasses from a cabinet.

“Sorry,” Jack continued rubbing his head, this time a little more out of embarrassment than just pain.

“No problem kid.” Merritt shuffled around the kitchen in silence for a couple of minutes, leaving Jack to zone out once again.

He snapped out of his daze when he felt a warm glass being pressed into his hands. With a questioning look aimed at Merritt he took the glass and sipped the liquid. He moaned at the taste. It was warm milk but it wasn't at the same time. It had hints of subtle other flavours that made the drink heady and soothing. He opened his eyes, not sure of when he'd closed them, and looked at Merritt, hands clutching at the glass like it was liquid gold. 

“What is  _ in  _ this thing?” Merritt only smiled and winked at him.

Before long the glass was empty and Jack was left staring at the last dregs with something akin to loss. He felt the glass being lifted gently out of his tired fingers and watched as Merritt cleaned the glasses and put them away. He hopped down off the counter and Merritt offered his hand. Instead, Jack draped himself across Merritt and placed a sloppy kiss at the side of his mouth. Merritt pressed a kiss of his own to Jack’s forehead before sliding an arm around his waist, guiding him back to bed.

It was one of the best sleeps Jack had ever experienced. It was also, although he didn't know it then, one of the best sleeps he was going to have for some time.

 

+1

Sunlight wormed its way through the crack in the ratty curtain, falling directly onto the face of Jack. Groaning he rolled away and buried his face into a warm chest next to him. The refuge was short lived as the chest rumbled as the man chuckled before rolling away from Jack who sleepily made grabby hands for his living eye mask.

“You were right, he does look cute half asleep,” Jack blearily blinked open his eyes to see the other three standing at the foot of the bed grinning at him. Too tired to reply, Jack just rolled over and groaned into the pillow.

“Come on Jack don't be so lazy, I've made breakfast,” Jack heard Danny speak before rolling back over to face him.

“You guys didn't just spend a week sleeping in a park during winter, I deserve I lie in.” He couldn't decide whether the yawn that followed helped or hindered his argument.

“We did however, only yesterday, pull off a trick which finished with us dashing across rooftops from the police,” Henley said. Her mouth quirked up into a mischievous grin, “therefore, I'm thinking, pyjama day? Oh, and last person on the bed has to bring in breakfast!”

She jumped immediately onto the bed followed quickly by Merritt, who practically tackled Jack back into the mattress, leaving the three on the bed giggling like children as Danny threw his hands into the air in exasperation.

“Children! I'm living with children!”

“Now now Daniel. You know perfectly well we’re all consenting adults here. You and Jack are extremely  _ vocal _ about the subject,” Merritt grinned and dodged the t-shirt Danny flung at him. He made kissy noises as Danny went to collect the breakfast.

Jack wormed his way into a sitting position between Henley and Merritt, who pressed close, their legs tangling under the duvet. Merritt threw his arm over Jack's shoulder and began playing with Henleys hair. The three of them relishing in the quiet of a Sunday morning.

Jack lost track of time for a while before he was being shaken awake once again. Opening his eyes he realised at some point he’d slipped down so that his head was resting in Merritt’s lap. He then realised, as he tried to shift, Henley must have also fallen asleep as she was wrapped around him from behind.

“No need to get up kid,” Merritt smiled warmly and stroked his hands gently through Jack’s bed head,” I just really need to piss.”

“Gross,” despite his words jack smiled sleepily back and shifted his head to let Merritt out. A couple of minutes later he was back, this time slipping under the covers, tucking Jack’s head into his chest. “Hey, what happened to breakfast?”

“Oh, well both you and Henley had fallen asleep so Danny just covered it and put it all away for later, he latched onto henley pretty quick when he got back.”

“And you?” Jack was struggling to keep his eyes open, but he forced himself to look at Merritt, “Did you sleep sitting upright? Cause let me tell you right now that that will give you a killer crick in the neck.”

“Nah, I just liked watching you all drool,” he grinned and Jack huffed a quiet laugh before tugging him closer.

“Go to sleep already, we’ve got plenty of time for all the sappy stuff, but right now,” Jack yawned and relaxed into the grips of the people he loved, feeling a warm hand sweep over Henley to brush against his waist, “right now, it’s time for sleep.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well that took about two weeks to write and I hope it payed off! I am in love with this ship and there just isn't enough said about it. I hope you guys enjoyed reading my first work for this fandom and I'd love to know if you liked it! Major kudos to Jamie for Beta reading this and being my cheerleader the whole way through. You can also talk to me on my tumblr at [Magnvs-Baen.](http://magnvs-baen.tumblr.com/) I'm always open to prompts so you can leave a comment here or send one to me at my blog and I'll hopefully get a chance to write it!  
> I have used too many exclamation points.  
> Anyway, Bye!


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